With buckets, soap, water, and a desire to help, family and friends came together on Saturday to raise funds for a funeral for a teen who was shot and killed in Mountain View.
"They ask that we have a funeral home so they can hand over her body so, we're doing this car wash," said Gustavo Cortez, the Emely Cortez's brother.
According to the investigation, the 19-year-old died of a gunshot wound to the torso inside an apartment in Mountain View on Wednesday.
The suspect, Jorge Manuel Sanchez, 18, was arrested at the scene, with whom the teenager allegedly was in a relationship with.
"I was hopeful that she was in the hospital in a coma or something. I was hoping they would tell me she was not dead, that she was alive," reiterated Janet Alonso, Emely Cortez's aunt.
With a lump in her throat, the victim's mother received hugs and the affection of her family, unable to talk about what happened.
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"It's not easy to lose a daughter and at such a young age, I say she's very devastated, she's devastated," Gustavo Cortez said.
Emely Cortez's brother said she worked in a hotel and had many dreams to fulfill.
"She was going to buy a car this weekend, which was what she wanted most, a car," Gustavo Cortez said.
Being part of the community, she was part of a charitable event that helped a family after losing three loved ones in a Logan Heights fire last year.
"She was there helping the family and she was a good child, she was still a child," Gustavo Cortez said.
The family created an account on GoFundMe, to raise funds for Emely Cortez's funeral.
